KB Kookmin, one of the top South Korean lenders, is planning to offer digital currency custody services for Bitcoin and Ethereum.
Originally reported by local news outlet Digital Today on Friday, the bank has already filed a trademark application for its crypto custody platform - KB Digital Asset Custody (KBDAC) - with the Korean Intellectual Property Office.
Given the filing date of January 31, it can be expected that the bank is considering the rollout of its crypto custody services in the coming months. The specific launch date, however, has not been revealed yet.
The report detailed that the application for a trademark means the bank has already completed much of the development process of the custody solution.
The partnership shows the banks dedication for crypto
KB Kookmin also partnered with Atomrigs Labs in July last year for the development of a Blockchain -based asset management solution, an official of the bank told the daily.
Based in Seoul, the startup develops products to secure digital currencies using multi-party computation (MPC) cryptography technology.
However, any specifics on the custodian platform is still unclear.
The report also outlined that the lender is planning to launch other crypto-based services as well, including trading, investment advisory, and asset management.
Though South Korea was one of the high-demanding markets for digital assets, the demand plummeted significantly in the last couple of years, given the slow down in the crypto market.
The lawmakers of the country amended the prevailing Financial Prevention Act to include anti-money laundering provisions for digital assets. The new law mandated the crypto exchanges to register with the regulators.
Meanwhile, in Germany, over 40 banks approached the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority, better known as BaFin, to secure approval to offer Bitcoin custody following the introduction of a new regulatory law in the country.
